Senate passes bill to help emergency rooms

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would transport people who call 911 for mental health issues to an alternative setting instead of the emergency room.

According to the Rhode Island General Assembly, the bill was passed to help the overwhelming amount of patients in the ER.

In the bill, commercial health insurance companies and Medicaid are required to reimburse for the EMS transport.

Also, the bill allows licensed mental health providers to accompany EMS, and treat patients in the community during the transport. However, patients are required to provide coverage for mental health treatment while in the community.

Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Joshua Miller said, “The emergency department is not the right place for people suffering from nonemergency behavioral or mental health problems, yet our emergency departments are overwhelmed — more now than ever — with patients seeking help for them, often because it’s the only option available to them. This legislation will skip the needless and expensive trip to the hospital and help get people directly to the place that is best suited to meet their needs.”

The bill will now go to the House of Representatives.